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Local resident urges preservation of historic Blackhawk school, gym, church and cemetery
Summary
Clarence Ellis Jr., a McAlester graduate, presented research and asked the council and staff to help preserve a local Black community school, gymnasium, church and cemetery, proposing tourism uses, a digital flip book and community events.
At the council meeting Clarence Ellis Jr., a 1967 graduate, presented research from the Oklahoma Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service and urged the city to help preserve a local school, gym, church and adjacent cemetery important to the Black community.
Ellis described his family's historical ties, said the building hosted Reverend Watts (who marched with Martin Luther King Jr.), and proposed converting the site into a historic-tourism destination with interpretive materials, powwows, and community events. He asked staff to review materials he has emailed and offered to provide a digital flip book and photographs from an Oklahoma University student preservation project.
"My name is Clarence Ellis Junior. What I have here, ladies and gentlemen, is my research for trying to preserve this school, gymnasium, church, and stadium," Ellis told the council. He said he would coordinate with the city manager and provide the council copies of proposals and imagery to aid preservation planning.
Mayor Sue McAlester and staff thanked Ellis for his presentation; no formal action was taken at the meeting, but staff accepted his materials and suggested follow-up outside the meeting to determine next steps and potential agenda placement.
